[sjwright]

Nothing is gained by being an asshole to an asshole. All you've done is provided him with documentable proof for how terrible and vindictive he thinks you are. It doesn't matter if every other claim he's made about you was a lie.

[setquk]

Sometimes it is not about personal gain but making sure that any unfair gains are worthless.

[sjwright]

How does smearing marmite make the unfair gain worthless? It might make you feel smug for a few hours, but if your enemy is vindictive, it could be used against you.

The best move is to avoid playing the game.

[setquk]

I just asked my other half how she was feeling about it after 16 years and she laughed so clearly petty justice has a lasting effect.

I think the person in question would be in vastly larger amounts of trouble for even raising his head above the cesspool he floated in for a moment. It would be like a chase from the Benny Hill show with local housing enforcement, HMRC, the police and a trail of angry and abused tenants.

The best move is making the game worthless so there are no winners. Shit on the board. It's a stalemate then.

[vraivroo]

That is not just "an asshole". That is criminal.

[ubercow13]

It probably felt good though!

[sjwright]

If you prioritise the short term over the long term, then yes.

[ubercow13]

I think the sibling comment demonstrates that it is was long term benefit.

[sjwright]

Only a long term benefit in hindsight. Could have gone any number of ways.

[setquk]

Unlikely. There was some intelligence behind it. He was aware the locks had been changed as I explained his in an SMS so I did what he asked explicitly. Secondly I could apologise for the mistake of leaving the wrong keys inside the property. As for the marmite, some kid did a prank! Ooops. Based on the police's previous attitude, would they likely come out for a bit of marmite in a letterbox.

The put the keys through the letterbox thing was actually a masterpiece of idiocy on his part which I refrained from mentioning to him.

[JadeNB]

> Only a long term benefit in hindsight. Could have gone any number of ways.

Isn't every long-term benefit long-term only in hindsight?

[stale2002]

Well it seemed like there were zero long term consequences. So it worked out.